Sea wall



Aug. 21, 1934. c. WEBER 1,971,324

`Carl 75l/226er;

curve are permissible.

1 40 back-nu.

Patented Aug. 2l, 1934 SEA i-WALL Carl Weber, Jacksonville, Fla., assignor to Shore- Line Builders, Inc., Jacksonville, Fla.

Application July 1s, 1933, serial No. 631,005

s claims. (o1. s1- 39) This invention relates to the construction of sea walls, such as are used to protect the shore lines of oceans, lakes and the like from erosion and, more particularly stated, in an improved de- 5. sign of sea wall to afford maximum protection to the shores or banks at a minimum cost of produc-- tion. This design is based upon an extended experience in the design and construction of structures of this kind and upon a careful study of the stresses to which they are subjected and which are due to earth pressure, wave action and erosion.

A wall, built in accordance with my invention, consists `essentially of three principal elements,

which are so combined that they form an integral structure capableof oifering great resistance to the stresses and wave action imposed upon it.

These three constituent elements are: 1. A rear elevated bulkhead wall. 2. A lower front cut-off 0 wall.` 3. An apron of special form uniting said walls.

These elements are combined into a monolithic'whole in which each acts as a support and anchorage for the others.

5 One of the important featuresof my invention is the conguration given to the front or waterside face of the sea wall above the front cut-off wall section. 'I'he face is developed withran upwardly rising curve in the general form of `a parabola by gradually decreasing the radii from the front edge up to the highest point or apex wherethe tangent is vertical. This shape is herein called parabolic although, in practice, deviations from a mathematically correct parabolic A line drawn from the lowest point or front edge of the curved face, which will be hereinafter called the diagonal, corresponds substantially with the natural slope of the shore-bank and the angle of repose of the Thus at its front edge, where the apron joins the cut-off wall, its face is nearly horizontal, while it approximates the vertical at the apex of the parabola. From this point up, the face has a reverse curve, preferably in a circular arc, so

i145 that the apron terminates at its top edge in an overhanging wave and spray deflector, immediately under the coping.

With this form` of apron, an incoming Wave encounters little resistance at first, but the resistso l ance progr esslve y increases as the water runs up @"0 apron instead of onto the ground or beach in front of the cut-olf wall, thus eliminating the erosion which usually occurs at the foot of sea walls. The Water of vthe receding wave slides back down the concave face and meets the next incoming wave a short distancein front of the 6()V cut-ofi wall, thus diminishing. the impact force of` said incoming wave; f Y' These advantageous features of my improved shore-protecting or sea wall will more fully appear in the course of the following detailed description G5` of one embodiment of my invention, to be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which,

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the sea Wall.

Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the same. 7,0`

1 Fig. 3 is a vertical cross section taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1. Y

Fig. 4 is a similar section taken onthe line 4-4' of Fig. 1. i

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section on line 5-`-5of Fig. 75

1, and i Fig. 6 is a similar View taken on line 6--6 of Fig. 3.

I will now describe the sequence of operations which `are performed in the erection of the wall, sub-ject to possible modications to suit varying conditions. The completed structure will naturally be apparent from the description of itsconstruction. Y Y

While any form of piling, steel, concrete or Wood, may be used as the foundation of the sea wall, I prefer to use the form illustrated, which consists of standard railroad rails, either new or used, since, due to their great sti'ness and compact cross section, they offer amaximum penetration, so that they can be driven into hard soil or even rock, such as' coral rock.

Referring now to the construction illustrated, two parallel rows of piling, 4 and 5, are driven along the shore to be protected and are cut oii' to 95 the required height. The tops of the front row 4 are preferably at a lower elevation than the tops of the rear row 5. These piles form the foundation of the structure and, due to their being driven into solid ground, they oiier great resistance to VV upward stresses, which may be caused by hydrostatic pressure.

The upper portions of the piles 4 are then enclosed in the recessed ends of premolded reinforced concrete slabs 6, which form the cut-off wall 3. The recesses in the ends of the slabs enclosing the piles are then lled with concrete or cement mortar 9. This construction wall, which is the preferred one but is not essential to the present invention, constitutes the subject matter ,1, 10

of my patent of December 10, 1929, No. 1,739,108. However, since the cut-oir wall is usually entirely below low tide level, it is not usually subject to corrosion and this front cut-oir wall may be made of wood or steel, if desired, instead of concrete. The slab construction is, however preferable, as it not only adds to the stiness of the piles 4 out also prevents their rusting if exposed at extreme low tide or by reason of excessive beach erosion. Naturally the slabs do not always extend down the full length of the piles but only to a distance sufficiently below normal low tide level. 1

The longer piles 5 of the rear row are enclosed, at an intermediate portion or" their length, by reinforced concrete encasements 7, Fig. 6, the

bores of which are then iilled with cement l0 around the piles. These encasements usually do not need to extend as far down as the slabs 6 `of the front wall.

The next step is the setting up of the forms (not shown) and the reinforcement rods 11 for the sea wall proper, which is cast in situ and rrnly united or cemented to the tops of the slabs 6 and encasements '7. This cast portion of the structure comprises the face or apron 2, the bulkhead wall 1, and the brackets 9, which rest on the encasements 7 and merge into the back of the apron 2.

The face of the apron is, as before stated, substantially in the form of a parabola and is nearly horizontal at its lower front edge and substantial ly vertical at the apex 14 of the parabola, the diagonal 12 of which is at an inclination corresponding approximately to the natural slope of the shore bank. Since the apron face conforms to this slope, the earth pressure on the back of the apron is practically eliminated.

From the point 14 upward, the contour of the face is a reverse curve 15, which may be in the form of the arc of a circle. This curve forms the underside of the coping 8 and constitutes a Wave and spray deflector, which directs the water, which has lost most of its kinetic energy when it reaches this curved overhang, back upon the front, almost horizontal portion of the face and against the next incoming Wave. This horizontal discharge of the water has also the advantage of preventing the scouring away of the sand in front of the wall. In other words, the pounding action and turbulence of the water at the foot of the usual type of sea Wall, which is the main cause of beach erosion, is eiTectively eliminated. With my sea wall, the receding water does not drop down,

like a cataract, onto the beach in front of the Wall, thus aiording protection against undermining by erosion. The front cut-off Wall, which extends down well below the lowest possible plane of erosion, is entirely below normal low tide level, and acts as an anchorage for the apron as well as an additional support for the entire structure.

Finally the forms are removed and the wall is back-nlled. Obviously certain auxiliaries, such as expansion joints, drainage pipes, steps, railings and the like, can be provided if and where required. The reinforcement 11 is made continuous throughout by interlacing the ends of the rods in the slabs 6 and encasements '7 with those in the apron 2 and bulkhead wall 1.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new is:

1. A monolithic shore-protecting structure, comprising a iront concrete wall supported on piles, a concave apron having its front edge merging into the top of said wall, a rear bulkhead Wall, the upper part of said apron merging into said bulkhead wall and presenting a reverse curve at its top, a rear row of piles having their upper portions enclosed in concrete encasements, and concrete brackets joining said encasements to the back of said apron and to the lower end of said bulkhead wall.

2. A concrete shore-protecting wall, comprising a front concrete cut-orf wall supported on foundation piling, a concave apron having its front edge merging into the top of said wall, a rear bulkhead wall, the upper part of said apron merging into said bulkhead wall and presenting a reverse curve at its top, a rear row of supporting piles having their upper portions extending into the top section of said bulkhead wall, and concrete encasements enclosing said rear piles immediately below said bulkhead wall.

3. A concrete shore-protecting wall, comprising a front cut-01T wall supported on foundation piling, a concave apron having its front edge merging into the top of said wall, a rear bulkhead wall, the upper part of said apron merging into said bulkhead wall and presenting a reverse curve at its top, a rear row of supporting piles having their upper portions extending into the top section of the bulkhead wall, the portion oi the piles immediately below the bulkhead wall being enclosed in concrete encasements, and concrete brackets running from said encasements to the back of said apron.

CARL WEBER.

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